From behind the tree I could see the Maiden in her full glory. Carried along by the swarms of thralls, she was terrifying and beautiful. Takashi was carrying a bundle he had pulled for the pond. He was fleeing from the mass of thralls and the tortured spirit of the Yurei. Kolya had been covering his companion from the relative safety of the trees. His single volley against the Yurei deflected harmlessly. Though her head was veiled behind a mop of raven hair, her posture told of her malicious intent. Kolya turned to run and only made it a few yards before the twisted form of a woman pulled at the air in his direction like a puppeteer and he crumbled to the ground in violent seizures. Takashi grabbed at Kolya's collar as he ran by, dragging him along. With the Yurei now focusing her attentions on him. His eyes were wild. The understanding that he could not save his fallen friend washed over his face in waves. At his new pace she would claim them both. She moved like a queen spider in jerky precise motions toward him. Sensing her presence without looking back he pulled at the earth like a baker throwing dough. With that motion he cocooned Kolya in rock and continued to evade Her.
She twitched and shuddered with a violence that would kill a living body. In her incongruous motions she appeared not to see Takashi as he raced for the cover of the undergrowth. Just as I thought he might be free of her, her true form appeared next to him slashing at his throat as he attempted to run past her. Some combination of luck and skill allowed him to keep his head. Now the footrace was on and the two of them disappeared into the woods.
I moved through the underbrush, quietly approaching Kolya’s position. The thralls were everywhere. A minate ago this glade was as quiet as after a spring rain. Now I picked my way past the moaning corpses to see what had become of Kolya.
When I arrived I could see more clearly what his friend had done for him. Mostly entombed in a coffin of rock Takashi had hidden Kolya from the Yurei’s notice. Then I heard him draw a hard ragged breath as though emerging from the depths of a great sea.
Kolya was not dead.
I cautioned him to be quiet as I pulled him from the cocoon. He looked so vulnerable and disoriented. I wanted to lick the salt from his face, but I resisted.
“Follow me and stay quiet.” I said.
His answer was a combination of half words and grunts as he vomited a wad of black hair onto the ground, but he complied.
We were alone in the woods with no sign of the Yurei, or anyone else. I held his hand as we moved deeper into the woods and away from the cursed pond. I had saved him. Where I came from that meant a lot. He was now mine and I could do with him what ever I wanted. I wasn’t sure if he understood the custom so I spent some time circling in the woods while I figured out how to break it to him.
Humans can be unpredictable when it coms to the old customs.
Before I could find the words to explain his new situation to him he declared that we were traveling in circles and that he was no longer willing to follow me. My temper got the better of me and I cried out in protest. The birds took flight from the nearby trees and my own ears rang for a bit. He cast me a scowl and headed for the trail. I followed after him for a moment before his friends found us.
Maybe screeming wasn’t a good way to keep him to myself.
Reunited with my bandit compatriots and the traveling band of foreigners, we continued on our journey west. I was still angry with Kolya and I needed him to understand he had lost my favor. Kaito was happy to see me and I gave him my attention. Kolya plays a pretty good game of being coy. The few times I looked in on him he acted oblivious to my lost affections.
Later before they departed, I let him know that I was no longer angry with him.
As they marched away toward the Human city of Hoseki I froze the image of the group in my mind’s eye. Something interesting was waking down that trail and it didn’t include me.
